March FO and other stuff

Well, that was a very fast March. I sewed and sewed and was able to get all the baby stuff (60+ items) out to my Daughter. I am a Grandma for the 3rd time. 1st little girl. Raina  was born March 29th. 8 lbs 14 oz , 21 in.

Here she is sporting one of Grandmas receiving blankets!

 

 

I was so wiped out from sewing that I cleaned my machine and didn't touch it for a week. Instead of sewing, I found a Rubbermaid tote with about 15 pounds of fabric from 1999 and washed and assorted the fabric. Since I only have a few things on the burner, I decided to make some 9 patches from this fabric as leaders and enders. Also cut a bunch more spool leaders and enders.

From the 9 patches I made on small quilt for a Forum friend. Just have to make the label and in the mail it will go.

 

I was aiming for a Spring look but it also looks like it could be used during Christmas Holidays. She favors red so I used red as an accent instead of pink. I hope she likes it!

Still have many strips to piece together. I want to have many units of 4 patches, 9 patches & 1/2 squares etc , to work with.

I am still working on my Scrappy Trips and it is coming along nicely. Have about 6 blocks made and a total of 32 cut out and ready to sew. This will be my throw for in the living room so I can put away the Christmas throw. It is just to snuggly to put away!


My goal for April is to finish my Easy Street quilt and have it on my bed by the end of the month! Hey I can dream!!!

Aileen in Florida

Baby Stuff & A Review

Well the race is on. I have been making little things for the new baby coming March 29th. My daughter still has yet to pick a name. She says she wants a neutral name but has not found one she likes. Right now the baby is called Spike since it kicks the heck out of her!

I saved the hardest for last. The all important Diaper Bag. I had a pattern but it was too small. I searched the internet to purchase one but the prices were ridiculous! $60 to $260 + and still not enough pockets. I finally stumbled onto warehouse fabrics inc. They have a blog with a diaper pattern. Lots of pockets, lots of potential! at 20 x 13 it was big enough. Lots of pictures! That is what I like. Visual aids!

I used the ultra firm fuse on stabilizer. This was a good idea at the time but if you have arthritis this is not for you. My hands hurts for days after turning the outer part inside out.

 

So stiff it stands by itself!  Then came making the inside.  Since the outside was so firm, the inside seemed flimsy. I added fusible web to all the inside fabric enough though the pattern did not call for it. I added a pocket to the inside divider as well. Now for assembly. I kept having nightmares about having to pull that stiff outer shell through the side of the inside piece. Oh my, was I going to be able to do this without ripping the fabric?

This sandwich was so thick that I broke a needle on it! I had to move the machine away from the wall too. The whole thing kept getting stuck on the wall. Turning this inside out was 10 x harder than the outer shell. My hands were throbbing for hours. Now we have an awesome bag with lots of pockets inside and out.

Another issue I was dealing with was how to close the bag. It was so thick that I knew the magnetic snap was a waste of time. I couldn't figure out how to insert a zipper, so Velcro was the next best idea. I added a Flap!

I ended up putting 2 strips of Velcro on the flap in white and 2 strips of Velcro on the bag in black. This way it is secure if she over stuffs the bag.

4 days and 30 hours of labor...the bag is done! Yes you do see skulls on the fabric. My daughter has quite a different taste in fabric than her mother!

This is Carri modeling the bag for her sister who lives in Upstate New York!
 

Finishing touch

 

 UPDATE :Added the button today and off in the mail it went!

Hope you like it!

 

 

 

 

I also finished the baby blanket. This is in soft pastels on the front using the Arrow pattern by Anita Grossman Solomon and a skull pink hounds tooth fabric on the back.

 

 

 

Now onto the crib sheets!

The Modern Quilt. What is it??

I asked myself that question several times as I come across some beautiful quilts on the internet. What am I looking at? The quilts are very appealing. What makes them modern?

Editor in Chief of McCall Quilting, Beth Hayes says it best. “

“Modern quilts are notable for their minimalist aesthetic, use of bright, bold colors with large doses of white and other neutral solids, asymmetrical designs, and free-form piecing.”

They are many things, especially Fun! A new twist on an old idea, and everything in between. Quilting has evolved from utilitarian to 5,000 + pieced beauties with quilting that can literally make a quilt stand up on it’s owe.  The simplicity of many of the “Modern Quilts” reminds me of the abstract artist of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.

McCall Quilting has provided this free link to 3 beautiful Modern Quilt Patterns. I especially like the Lemon Squeezy designed by Sherri Driver. I have made a few Quilt as You Go quilts but never thought of making them in this scale. You can make a whole baby quilt in to time flat, using this method and it is already quilted!

Happy Quilting

Aileen in FL

 

Giveaway, AAQI and Stuff

NewFOs

Morning Everyone!

Welcome to March. It is  suppose to be heading for spring but it is only 41 degrees today here in FL. Sweat shirt hoodies being worn all over the house.

Giveaway winner is Linda W. from Ohio!
Winner was selected at random. I hope Linda likes the fabrics!

I want to thank everyone that left a comment on my blog for "It's All About Me"! I so appreciate the great comments. Sometimes you just have to hear it from someone else, that you are heading in the right direction.
I came in as one of the top 3 for February 21 in the ALL ABOUT ME blog hop challenge! What fun!!!
Louie just loves this wall hanging and is still putting his nose on the sewing table! Click HERE for full story!



February AAQI Quilt

 

Sprint to Spring

#13329

by

Aileen Kline

 

 



I continue with my commitment to Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. They will stop collecting quilts August 1, 2013. I am determined to make at least one a month to the very end.

Someday I may be a recipient of the leaps forward made in Alzheimer's research do to this worthy cause. The goal is $1 million dollars by the December 31, 2013. I don't see why that can't be achieved if everyone pitches in. I make all my little quilts from scraps. The hardest part is sending them off in the mail!

 

 

 

and Stuff - NewFO

 

 

My oldest daughter is expecting her second child. It's a girl. With the help of her sister, I have been able to make a lot of little things for her. I wish that I had time to make them for myself when I was younger. It has been a lot of fun. I am by no means near finished but the pile is growing daily and the baby is due at the end of March. Time is really flying.

 

Her taste in fabric is not my taste. Not even in the same ballpark, but these are made with love from both of us.

 

 

 

 

Receiving Blanket



 

3 Receiving blankets, 12 burp rags, changing mat. I also made about a dozen breast covers since she will be nursing.

 

The oddest thing I made was a Nursing cover. It is kinda like a apron but does not tie in the back. You just put it on for privacy while nursing in public, etc. The fabric is skulls, which by the pink receiving blanket. gives away her fabric preference! LOL

 

 

I added a pocket in an angle with a key ring and carabener, so she can have easy access to her cellphone and keys. I did make it reversible, with a more sedate fabric on the back.

 

 

 

 

 



 

Happy Quilt to All !

 

Aileen

 







It's All About Me.

Thanks to Madame Samm and Marlene for this blog hop. Also a big thank you to Amy Bradley for the cute design. I jumped at the chance to do this hop.

I thought about it for weeks and could not make up my mind what I wanted to do. I am not a little bit biased, so I needed to say something else. But What? 

This past 2 years I have become a Scrap-o-holic! I have made so may things without even going into my stash. Just what is in the scrap bins. Yet this was not speaking to me either. 

Then along came my daughter. She has been helping me with baby gifts for her sister. She does all the ironing and cutting and I do all the sewing. Good trade off. What she said clinched it for me. " What about Louie looking over your shoulder"! What? What? Well there it was!  Just the right thing. The true statement that made me fly through this creation.

I only started sewing this on the 15th. That is how blocked I was.

Louie is my 3 year old grandson.  He has been hanging out in my sewing room since he was 1 1/2 years old. Every day I hear him running across the house saying he is going to play with Grandma. His fascination with what I created is second to none.One of Louie's favorite things is to watch me clean the machine. If he could insert himself into my skin for a better look, he would. He is also a scrap-o-holic. His favorite thing to do with scraps is bury his cars in a "Fabric Cave". I have given him his own table in my 10 x 10 foot room and still he is quite often literally under my armpit watching me sew.

For me and Louie, quilting is Play Time!

**Today Louie decided that he would imitate art by putting a red car and his nose on the sewing table ! **

LOL!

We laughed so hard!

***********************************

Just a little GIVEAWAY for stopping by. 

Please leave a comment to enter the giveaway.

This is a fabric bundle by Ellen Edith. Enough fabric to make a kids quilt. Very bright and cheery!


Thank you for stopping by. Happy Quilting!

Aileen

See what the other creative people are up to!

Thursday, February 21

Kris Loves Fabric

The Quilting Alleycat (that me)

Cat Patches

Bumbleberry Stitches

Chickadees Country Cottage Crafts

In Stitches and Seams

Why-Knot-Kwilt

Quilting Unleashed

Rosemary at That Other Blog

Thimblemouse & Spouse

Sew Many Yarns

AAQI 2013 Sprint To The Finish

Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative will stop collecting quilts August 1, 2013. They are hoping to reach their $1 million dollar goal by the end of 2013. They are hoping for awesome sales at Houston in 2013. They need quilts to achieve this. WE CAN DO IT!!!!

SO LADIES if you have been thinking of doing a AAQI quilt,   PLEASE do it now! Lets help AAQI go out with a bang! This is a worthy cause. We all may be affected by this disease. Show your support. Send in a mini today. 

Here is my January quilt. I made it with leftover blocks from a mini quilt I made in 2010.   I just dressed it up with some felty flowers and cute buttons. 

#13096 

by 

Aileen Kline

Here is the link to my personal page at AAQI . Give it a try. You don't have to be an expert quilter, just a person that wants to help.

Sprint To The Finish with us!!! Here is the message from Ami Simms. Lets give her a hand in getting this goal done!!!

Log Cabin Block

I was asked to review a new e-Book by Fons and Porter called
"Build Your Best Log Cabin". I have been a big fan of Fons and Porter for years, having taped many VHS tapes of their shows, when I was just learning to quilt. Their e-book is very easy to download and the directions are very straight forward.

Log Cabins are wonderful and versatile blocks. This block became very popular in 1860's. So many different layouts are possible with this block.  It continues to be one of the best blocks to teach beginning quilters and still can be challenging for intermediate quilters as well.

The e-book presents examples of Traditional, Courthouse Steps and Chervon blocks as well as many possible layout. The Traditional Block Cutting Chart is a wonderful resource. It gives you 5 different blocks sizes, as well as the width and length of the strips needed to achieve your desired size.

The pages include pictures of Antique and Contemporary quilts with a touch of history thrown in the mix. There are featured quilts by well know quilt artists such as Ricky Tims,Marti Michell, Shon McMain, and
Lori Christianson, from easy to challenging.

Also included are cutting charts, suggested quilting designs and tips on organizing your strips. There is even a tutorial for "Liz's Lumpless Binding" and "Binding with Piping" to really make your creations sing!

Best of all this is a FREE download .

January Fun Stuff & NewFO

January really did fly by quickly this year. We had a few birthdays, ate to much and sewed to little.

First was Louie's birthday. I made him his birthday wall hanging. He loves it and is still hanging up. Picture is not as bright as the actual wall hanging. I will have to make something up for Valentines day real soon!

I made a couple pairs of shorts for his mom, and a pillow case for his sister. Forgot to take pix. 

I belong to the Block Swap Adventure and made a 12 " inch block for Teresa in UK. She liked it. The pattern she wanted was called cactus basket so why not a cactus with flowers. The centers are orange buttons.

Then the deadline for Alzheimer's Art Quilt was looming so I made this cute little block.

#13096

Flowery Stars.

Flowers are felt with button centers. It was great fun to make. If I could have figured out how to sew the buttons on by machine I would have!. I really have gotten spoiled making things by machine only. 

My sewing machine was sounding like a tank for a few weeks and was getting louder and louder. I didn't want to take the chance and ruin my blocks so I set them aside and worked on the other stuff.  I was working on my Easy Street blocks. Bonnie K Hunters quilts are piece intensive. Someone said this one has over 3000 pieces but it is so worth the work. 

 So what am I going to do??? 
Working on my NewFO Challenge at Cat Patches of course!


Well it just so happens that one of Bonnie's quilt blocks Scrap Trips Around the World! has gone viral. There is a Flickr group called Scrappy Trip Along that is posting the quilts.  Since I start going by the adage that if the scrap tub is full make something, I decide this would be the perfect block. I made 25 strip sets in 2 days and now that I have my sewing machine back from the repairman "Fabric Will Fly"!!!

Some of the strips are 10 years old!


Last year I started keeping a running total of things that I have made. I was surprise how many there were considering I often could only sew for 15 to 20 minutes a day. It was 54 finished items. So I am tracking this again this year.

Happy Quilting 

Aileen in Florida

Finished projects 2013: 1 pillow case, 1 AAQI quilt, 1 Wall hanging, 2 shorts, 1 BSA block, 3 nookbook rests

Happy Birthday Louie!

Happy 3rd Birthday Louie!

Louie is my grandson and constant companion in my sewing room. He has his own table and chair in the there. He loves scraps and has been playing with them since moving here in July of 2011.

His favorite thing to do with those scraps is bury his toy cars or fling them in the air! Good thing he helps me clean up every night.
He knows what a rotary cutter is. He says it is a pizza cutter for fabric. He is fascinated with all my tools. His greatest pleasure is watching me clean my sewing machine and he tries to get between me and the machine for a better look.

Every night he sleeps with his Grandma blankets.

Currently his favorite blanket is a Christmas UFO lap quilt I finished just in time for Christmas. While I relax in my chair at night, he get up on my lap and loves to hiding under it.  Since he is a ball of energy I am grateful that curling under the quilt calms him down just before bedtime.

 While I was working on my blocks for Easy Street, I realized that I wanted to made him a birthday wallhanging.  
This is what I came up with. 

Happy Birthday Louis!!!!
Love Grandma  

Easy Street - Rounding the bend

Hi Fellow quilters.

I have been plugging away at my Easy Street blocks. I finished Orca Bay a few months ago for my daughter Carri. This one is for me. I love the colors.

Due to lots of pain meds and the Flu I have been doing them Very slowly. I tend to sew like my machine is on fire. This is the way my mom taught me  to sew 43 years ago. Husband sometimes says it sounds like a machine gun going off in there.
I am finding that it is going together very nicely. I have been very careful not to stretch anything. I have not ironed any of my blocks yet. All have been finger pressed. This eliminated the usual swearing that I would have been doing by now, due to those quarter square triangles.

I have 9 blocks of Block B to go and all will be completed. For a change I sewed the blocks Bonnie's way. Webbing them! What a difference that made. I usually do all of one thing and then go to the next and end up ripping out stuff left and right. I had to rip out 2 -  4 patches and resew about 10 flying geese because they were warped badly. Not bad. I think my ripper got lonely for me! LOL

Can't wait to finish those last 9 blocks. 

Sorry about quality of pictures. I thought cut off for linky was Monday as well.

Happy Sewing

Aileen in Florida

Easy Street 5

Happy Holiday and Merry Christmas!

It has been crazy here for days. Bet it's been like that at your house too!
Easy Street Part 5 went very fast. Cut out on Friday and finish sewing blocks on Saturday.

Here are all my blocks! Ready to be assembled. Can't wait for the next step.

In the meantime what am I going to sew. I mailed all the Christmas goodies I made. Cleaned up the sewing room and made a few more e-reader stands.

The only thing left is to dig into the UFO pile. There are many! I gave away a lot of orphan blocks several months ago that were haunting me. I only kept a few really old things. One was the Pumpkin wall hanging from way back when, that I quilted for Thanksgiving.

This is another one from around 2000. It was a sorry little laptop. I was teaching a class on fusible web. At that time fusible web was like a brick. So thick it made the top really rigid. I used blocks from several books. I don't remember where I got them at this point. I think I drafted the angel and snowmen but not even sure anymore. LOL

On Saturday after starching the daylights out of the top, I sandwiched it and started FMQ. Even with the starch the white area was stretching. So I quilted the heck out of that area. All and all it looks nice. Nothing I would want to give away. Just a quilt we will pull out for Christmas.

GRANDSON APPROVED!

Merry Christmas!

Go to Bonnie's Linky page to see what eveyone else is up to!

Easy Street 4

I have been plugging away at step 4 of Easy Street. Wanted to finish them before my birthday today.
I am a big OLD 60 today!This will be my quilt. I guess that would be my Diamond Jubilee quilt!
I can't wait to finish it.

Some trials and tribulations along the way. I did a few upside down and a few wonkier than I would have imagined. The seam had slipped but I did not notice untiI I tried to sew the two geese together. I was able to cut the 145 green squares. I only have 18 more geese to sew together! WOOT WOOT!!!

Go to Bonnie's Linky page to see what eveyone else is up to!

Oh Christmas Tree

Happy Holiday everyone!

After making the Pumpkin wall hanging in October, my daughter requested a Christmas Tree shaped walling hanging. She lives in upstate NY and wall space is very limited. I surfed around and quite by accident I came across an idea for a space saving wall hanging at Buzzing and Bumbling. It is a Christmas Tree wall hanging with so many possibilities. There are no specific cutting directions but the idea was just what I was looking for.
I decided to make 3. One for each daughter. So I washed, cut, and starched enough fabric for 3 plus a little extra to make a small tree for AAQI.

This is the one that is now hanging in my living room.

Since I have to mail out the Trees, I wanted to send them ornaments with it as well. I didn't want to spend a fortune on those ornaments either. I hit the local Walmart, and the Dollar Tree. Then Target was next and they had some great Christmas balls for $3.00 a pack. I think there are a dozen in the pack. All in all, I think I only spent about $10.00 for the ornaments for each tree. They are plastic so they won't break in shipping. I did get a long string of red beads for $2.00 at the Dollar General and it was enough bead garland for all three trees. I sewed on ribbon to secure the beads. My daughters will have their trees against the wall. Mine is hanging on my quilt rack. This caused some bowing at the bottom. I fixed this by putting some tabs on the bottom back and running a wooden dowel through the loops.

What I learned --- 1st tree took me about 6 hours to figure out. Next two where sewn up in about 2 hours. Since you have to sew the ribbon tabs in as you go, it is hard to judge how many you really want. I started with the bottom row and worked my way up. 1st and 2nd quilt I have bottom row tabs. On the one going to my daughter in Seattle, I left out the bottom tabs. Hers is going to hang in her cubicle at work and may cause the ornaments to hit the desk top. In other words, customize it for your needs. As for the FMQ, really had to be careful not to quilt down those tabs. I had to pin them out of the way as I added the long loops to mimic tree foliage on the green. Couple of oops moments but not bad. The star at the top did not stand out on the background. I should have used a deeper gold color. Solution was to zigzag around star. I did one in black thread and it was too dramatic so this one I sewed in red instead.

I think half the fun for the recipent will be dressing the tree. My daughter and grandson had a blast putting the ornamanent on while Grandma kept plugging away at the other 2 trees.

Decided at the last minute to make a Christmas stocking for grandchild #3 that will be coming in March. It was a rough year for my daughter. She miscarried earlier on  and was quite depressed. This baby is very special. She will be the first girl! I am very excited.
Last year I made them all Christmas Stockings. Could not wait for Christmas 2013 to make her a stocking, so here it is!

This is a pattern from Calico Moon Patterns. It is called Bottoms Up!
I changed it a little so that it has a lining. It only took me a couple hours to get it done. You can put stuff in the pants as well as the front pocket. Really a fun stocking.

Hope your Holiday is full of Peace and Joy

Aileen from FL


P.S. Amber just posted her tree on FB! So here it is. She loves it! I am so glad!!!!

Shara received hers last night. Here is her decorated tree. 

She loves it. Her co-workers keep stopping at her desk to look at. 

So glad I made it for her!

Also sent her a tiny 8" wreath. She had fun decorating that too.

Happy Holiday!

Easy Street

Easy Street Monday Linky!

I finally got done with my Christmas presents. They are in the mail flying to Seattle and Upstate NY. My daughters read my blog so I can't post until the gifts arrive on Tuesday. They were great fun to make.

Cleaned my sewing area and the began my Easy Street Mystery. I have been looking forward to this mystery. I made Carri the Orca Bay quilt. Finished it in late September. She loves it and sleeps with it every night. All my girls have quilts. Even made king size quilt for my husband. Time for a quilt for myself!

Part one is complete. Part 2 -, I have all cut, but only sewed 30 blocks. Decided to try part 3 and have 20 units done. Easy Peasy so far!!!. My goal this week is to catch up by Friday.

Just wanted to add that I have been collecting B & W and W & B, lime green, purple and teal for 2 years with nothing in mind. Bonnie did blow my mine when she posted her color suggestions!...That is when I knew this quilt was definitely for me!